A team of Mahila Police Station of Barabanki nabbed eight natives of Gujarat on Saturday for allegedly purchasing a woman for Rs 80,000. Victim’s father-in-law Chand Ram Verma and two villagers (Ramu Gautam and his brother-in-law of Barabanki), were also said to be involved in the crime and the police launched a manhunt for them.
Those arrested were identified as Sahil Pancha and his relatives Pappu Bhai Sharma, Apoorva Pancha, Geetaben, Neetaben, Shilpaben, Rakesh and Sahil’s father Ajay Bhai (all of Gujarat). Sahil is acquainted with Ramu Gautam who used to work in Gujarat. Sahil, who is unmarried, had asked Ramu to arrange a woman for his marriage and offered him money.
Ramu, who returned home following the Covid outbreak and subsequent lockdown, talked to Chand Ram Verma about Sahil’s marriage proposal. Chand Ram’s son Prince had a love marriage with an Assamese woman and he was unhappy with Prince. He agreed to sell Prince’ wife to Sahil for Rs 80,000 and took Rs 40,000 in advance and transferred Rs 20,000 in Prince’s bank account on June 4.
On getting a message of money transfer in his bank account, Prince, who was in Ghaziabad at that time, inquired the same from his father but the latter refused to explain.
On June 4, Chand Ram asked Prince to send his wife to Barabanki as he was unwell, and Prince sent her to his home to take care of his father. On June 5, Sahil, along with his father and relatives, reached Barabanki and Ramu Gautam arranged a hotel room in Barabanki.
On June 5 evening, Chand Ram told his daughter-in-law that his health had improved and asked her to accompany Ramu Gautam to Ghaziabad.
In the meantime, Prince’s brother-in-law tipped him off about the illegal act of Chand Ram and he reached Barabanki on June 5 but did not find his wife and his father at home. He grew suspicious and went to the auto-rickshaw stand to inquire if his father hired any vehicle.
He was told that his father, along with Prince’s wife and a few others, had gone to Barabanki railway station. He reached the railway station and called the police. In the night, the police arrested Sahil, his father and other relatives and also recovered Prince’s wife. Prince’s father and his aides fled the scene when the police reached the railway station.
It later surfaced that Prince fell in love with the girl in 2019 while working as a taxi driver in Ghaziabad and had a love marriage with her at a temple in Barabanki. He, along with his wife, started living in Ghaziabad and sent her to Barabanki on being asked by his father.